Writers in repressive societies are considered dangerous. That's why so many of them are in jail.

It occurred to me that eating is the only form of professionalism most people ever attain.

Being called a 'bad citizen' is a compliment to a novelist, at least to my mind. That's exactly what we ought to do.

Maybe when we die, the first thing we'll say is 'I know this feeling. I was here before'.

A writer takes earnest measures to secure his solitude and then finds endless ways to squander it.

In cities no one notices specific dying. Dying is a quality of the air. It's everywhere and nowhere.

I am ashamed every day, and more ashamed the next. But I will spend the rest of my life in this living space writing these notes, this journal, recording my acts and reflections, finding some honor, some worth at the bottom of things. I want ten thousand pages that will stop the world.